DEVELOPMENT OF CANADA.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 821, 2 April 1910, Page 4

DEVELOPMENT OF CANADA.

While in New Zealand we are content to keep our waste lands locked up, thereby arresting progress and checking prosperity, Canada is booming in a marvellous manner, because of her vigorous laud settlement policy, and enlightened efforts to attract population. Mr Smithers, chairman of the Grand Trunk railway, in a recent speech, gave some interesting facts regarding the progress Canada is making. Dealing with the resources of Canada, he said that her railway mileag was now 24,100, exceeding that ol Great Britain aud Ireland by 1,000 miles. The wheal crop of Western Canada last year was a record, amounting to 144,000,000 bushels, as compared with 64.000. bushels in 1905, r-mi a very lemarkable feature ’w .s the rapidity of the extension of wheat growing in Saskatchewan. If we took the crops of all Ca -- da, wheat had lisen fiom 84,000,000 bushels in 1901 to i65,000,0c0 in 1908, oats from 122,000,000 in 1901 to 355,000,000 in 1909, and barely Irom 24,000,000 in 1901, to 57.000. in 1909. It was calcn laled that the actual cash value of wheat alone to the farmers of the three western provinces in 1909 was 106,000,000 dollars. According to the president ot the Canadian Bank of Commerce, the total bank clearings of the 14 Canadian clearing-houses for 1909 were 5,204 million dollars, against 4,142 million dollars in 1908. The total value of all minerals produced in 1908, as shown by the preliminary Government report, was 88,000,000 dollars. He left to the imagination the value of the limber, cattle, dairy produce, and Iruit and fisheries. Americans have no delusion regarding the marvellous polen tialities ot Canada. Colonel John Conrad has returned to New York alter prospecting in Sackatchewan, where he has bought a ranch, and he urges the claims of Saskatchewan as eloquently as any Canadian. “An astonishing thing,” Colonel Conrad continues, 11 that 1 saw up there once was the arrival of a trainload of American emigrants, who had brought on the same train their horses, waggons, and a steam plough. They arrived in the morning, pitched their tents, unloaded the train, aud that afternoon the steam plough was working. One immigrant like that is worth a dozen loreigners. The development that is going on in that part of Canada is beyond belief. It is the greatest boom any country ever had, and it will continue for many years. Why, it is no unusual thing for a farmer to make enough money out of his first year’s crop to pay for his whole farm, aud give him a handsome margin. You can get Government laud for 5s an acre, and you can buy all the other laud you want from £1 12s to £2 an acre. Theu lumber mills aud flour mils are going up in every direction. What is helping the country there is the tremendous railroad building that is going on. It is the richest fanning country in the world, and abounds in game.”